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Matt. 24:14; Acts 20:24; Rev. 1:9; 1 Tim. 2:4; Eph. 5:27; Mark 16:16; Matt. 28:20; 5:11-12; 2 Cor. 1:4
I. The gospel needs to be preached
II. The saved ones need to come to the full knowledge of the truth
III. The local churches need to be established in every city
IV. We must pray for His move
V. We must go to disciple all the nations
VI. We must teach them what we have been taught
VII. We must go and establish local churches throughout all the earth
VIII. We will bring the Lord and the kingdom to earth and will receive a reward
In Matthew 24:14 the Lord said, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole inhabited earth for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end shall come.” [The “gospel of the kingdom,” including the gospel of grace (Acts 20:24), not only brings people into God’s salvation, but also into the kingdom of the heavens (Rev. 1:9). The emphasis of the gospel of grace is on forgiveness of sin, God’s redemption, and eternal life; whereas the stress of the gospel of the kingdom is on the heavenly ruling of God and the authority of the Lord. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole earth for a testimony to all the nations before the end of this age comes. Hence, this preaching will be a sign of the consummation of this age.] We who love the Lord and want to serve Him should go and preach the gospel of the kingdom until there is no place left to go.
In 1 Timothy 2:4a the apostle Paul said, “Who [God] desires all men to be saved.” Having all men saved is God’s desire. Many Christians pray to know God’s will for their life, but they are ignorant of God’s will for humanity. All have sinned. All have been condemned. All will be in the lake of fire unless they are saved. If they are not saved, they are not useful to God who created them. They will not be members of the glorious church the Lord is building. Therefore, God desires all men to be saved for His purpose.
Paul continued in 1 Timothy 2:4b, “and come to the full knowledge of the truth.” It is crucial to see the word “and.” We may only see that God desires all men to be saved, and neglect to see that God also desires that they come to the full knowledge of the truth. Getting saved is the initial step for men to be in God’s purpose. Men are not useful for the building up of the church unless they have come to the full knowledge of the truth. We also need to come to the full knowledge of the truth in order to help others come to the full knowledge of the truth.
The term full knowledge does not merely mean understanding; it includes understanding and experience. To really know that sugar is sweet, you must taste it. After tasting its sweetness, you will know sugar is sweet, experientially, and no one will be able to convince you otherwise. All men need to come to the full knowledge of the truth the same way. Too many people know only “hear-say” truth. They do not really know nor have they experienced the truth to the extent that no one could convince them otherwise. All should know the truth item by item, point by point, and also know it experientially, until they have come to the full knowledge of the truth.
The Lord said, in Matthew chapter 16, that He will build the church — the ruling and overcoming church. The church is glorious (Eph. 5:27). The universal church is comprised of many local churches; therefore, local churches need to be established throughout all the earth. The local churches need to be built up with the Spirit and the Word. The churches should be full of God, essentially. They should be full of Christ as the testimony of Jesus. They should be full of the Spirit to express the Triune God as lampstands in the dark, evil, and perverse world. The Lord’s as well as our work is not complete until all of the preceding points have been accomplished.
The gospel of the kingdom must be preached to the whole inhabited earth in order for all men to be saved and come to the full knowledge of the truth, and for the local churches to be established throughout all the earth. This is God’s desire, Christ’s commission, and the Spirit’s work. We are co-laborers with God, partners of Christ, and the reprint of the Spirit to carry out this great purpose of God.
Recall how David swore, “I’ll not come into my house, Nor go up to my bed, Give slumber to my eyelids, Until I find a place for thee, A place, O Lord, for thee." Our mighty God desires a home Where all His own may come.
This verse was written according to Psalm 132. It describes how David felt about God’s house, the church. We should have the same feeling towards His church.
If we mean business with the Lord, we will consecrate ourselves for this glorious commission. Firstly, we must pray. Prayer fills us up with the Triune God. Prayer causes the Father to give us those we ask for, and enables the Lord to bring to earth what has been done in heaven. Prayer also energizes us to accomplish this great work. We must pray. Pray at set times and pray all the time. Pray individually and corporately with our companions. Pray in spirit and with the Word. Pray until the Lord increases the church with flocks of men for the building up of His habitation (Ezek. 36:37). Pray until the Lord makes Jerusalem, the builded church in spirit, a praise in the earth (Isa. 62:6-7).
After praying, we must go to disciple all the nations. In Matthew chapter 28, the Lord commissions us to disciple all the nations. In Mark 16, He charged us to preach to all the creation. In Luke chapter 24, He told us to be His witnesses to all the nations. In John chapter 15, He appointed us to go forth and bear remaining fruit. Therefore, in conjunction with our prayer, we must go. The unbelieving people will not come to us. We must go to them. The Lord went forth from His throne in the heavens to come to us. The unbelievers do not know the address of our meeting halls. Even if they knew, they may not want to come. The best way to disciple all the nations is to preach to all the creation, to witness to all the nations, and to bear much fruit. This requires us to pray and go.
When the nations believe and are baptized they will be saved (Mark 16:16). They become sons of God and members of the Body of Christ. As a result the church will increase in number. There will be more called-out ones in the assembly, more material to build up the house of God, and more members to function in the Body of Christ. This is a crucial part of the church-building process. The building work will cease if we are not faithful to disciple all the nations.
After baptizing new believers into the Triune God, we must continue by “teaching them to observe all things, whatever I (the Lord) commanded you; and behold, I (the Lord) am with you all the days until the consummation of the age” (Matt. 28:20). This is very important. It fulfills the second half of 1 Timothy 2:4 — that they may come to the full knowledge of the truth. You may say that you have not yet come to the full knowledge of the truth. This is the fifth summer school of the truth you have attended. What you have learned is not insignificant. You have learned the major points of the truth of the Bible. Most seminary students have not learned what you have already learned. They may know many things from the Bible, but they do not know the crucial truths concerning God’s full salvation. Most of them do not know the three stages of salvation, nor do they know the truth concerning sanctification and transformation. They may not even know the difference between justification and reconciliation. However, you already have much truth to teach the new ones. Teach them everything you know. Learn more and teach more. If you continue to learn, you will always be equipped to teach. Hallelujah!
You can pray, go, baptize, and teach. As you do these things, the processed Triune God will be with you. You will be able to bind Satan and loose people for God’s church.
The last thing we must do is to establish local churches. If you are faithful to do all the things listed above, you will have begun to build up a local church. Some people desire to preach the gospel in the uttermost parts of the earth, yet they do not preach where they presently live. If we are able to preach the gospel where we presently live, we will be able to preach the gospel anywhere. If you do not know how to preach, then learn by praying, fellowshipping, and practicing with your companions. If you know how to preach, continue and teach others to preach. In the meantime, study diligently, exercise properly, and develop a good character. After you graduate from college, attend a full-time training to be fully prepared for the Master’s use. You and your companions will be trained, formed into a team, and sent out by the Lord to establish churches.
As you are faithful to carry out His burden to build up the church, He will be there to supply you. It is not that you will be without problems, but you will have the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ to carry you through every crisis. You may be attacked from without and from within, yet you will stand. You may be persecuted for the Lord’s sake, yet you will not give up because you know that great is your reward in the heavens (Matt. 5:11-12). You may be very discouraged at times, yet simply touching the God of all encouragement will revive your spirit (2 Cor. 1:4). After you have labored faithfully all your life, many churches will be established. All the other faithful brothers and sisters will do the same. Together, we will bring the Lord back. When He comes, He will bring His reward with Him to award all the faithful ones (Rev. 22:12).
Are you willing to be faithful? Are you ready to go on? Are you on the Lord’s side? Hymn 473 tells us that when we give up all things for Christ, we own everything in this universe. We give up a fragment and in exchange the Lord will give us the whole. Pursuing Christ in such a way will lead us to the throne of Christ and enable us to rule with Him as co-kings. Amen! Hallelujah!
